According to the new IGN article outlining the CAW aspect of HCTP, there is FINALLY the option for entrance attires! Sweet! I can't wait 'til Tuesday. I have that day off and I will be playing this game all freaking day. I'm excited.

Does Matt Hardy have his Matt Facts? That would be neat. Especially if they were randomly selected from a big list! That might mess up the CAS entrance, though. Unless you name your guy Matt, or something.

Originally posted by Mack SalmonDoes Matt Hardy have his Matt Facts? That would be neat. Especially if they were randomly selected from a big list! That might mess up the CAS entrance, though. Unless you name your guy Matt, or something.

Yes. I think they included several different facts, but it won't take long to blow through them. But if you give somebody else his entrance, you'll just get the "Matt Hardy" screens.

Interesting news: If you use two memory cards, you can import up to 56 CAWs into Season Mode (32 on each card, but there isn't room to import all those guys). I'm not quite sure how that will work, but should be an interesting addition.

Wisconsin Badgers: 6-2 (What a sever letdown. The fact that despite getting outclassed the whole game, we stayed in it gives me a glimmer of hope for the rest of the season.)

Minnesota Vikings: 6-0 (What a play, huh? Everybody on the team played well and we won, can't ask much more than that.)

The first shop I went to said "tomorrow, maybe" but I hit paydirt with the second. (Should you be in Queens and on the hunt, the Game Stop one block down Queens Boulevard from Queens Center Mall has it in stacks.)

Some early impressions:

I was worried the new counter system might be too tough for me (as I'm one of those no-skillz types who just mashed square frantically when I was on defense in SYM). But it works very well, and rewards me for paying close attention to what my opponent is doing. Top marks there.

Everything looks a lot darker and more shadowy than SYM. I don't really like it. It's not hard to see, but it looks like half the lights in the arena suddenly went out.

The new grappling system takes getting used to. A lot of times I wind up actually letting go of my opponent before I can do the hold or move I was aiming for. But practice makes perfect, and all that.

The game is a lot more sensitive to rope breaks, and now actually calls for rope breaks if you put a submission on someone while he's touching the ropes. It makes planning where you're gonna plant your opponent a lot more important.

I haven't really noticed the AI being much better than in SYM, but I'll probably have to play longer to judge that.

And I will never get tired of watching the front row of the crowd do the thumbs thing along with RVD during his entrance.

"I do have a degree in electrical engineering... from almost 20 years ago. Punchcard systems were just becoming obsolete, we had rotary phones in the dorms, and a modem was still a gizmo the size of a shoebox into which you squooshed the phone receiver itself. In short, we lived like animals.

The instant obsolesence is why I became a writer. The rate of punctuation in a sentence doesn't double every 18 friggin' months, and you never have some 22-year-old looming over your shoulder, shaking his head, saying "dude... you're still using adverbs...?"

Originally posted by Shem the PenmanEverything looks a lot darker and more shadowy than SYM. I don't really like it. It's not hard to see, but it looks like half the lights in the arena suddenly went out.

I picked Matt Hardy for my run through season mode. I just finished up Summerslam but I've yet to recieve a shot at Brock Lesnar for the title. As a matter of fact, I think every shot for Brock's title has been given to Undertaker. -_-;

The controls for the grapples and the reversals in this game are perfect. THQ and Yukes have a real winner on their hands this year. =D

Edit: I just had to fight Rikishi backstage after he made fun of my car. The fight was going about as well as I hoped it would when I threw Rikishi into a part of the wall with a fusebox on it and he ended up getting electrocuted just like Goldust did on Raw a few months ago. ^_^

(edited by El Pescado on 28.10.03 1446)"You won't see that on Everybody Loves Raymond!"-J.R. after Trish gets pasted with a chair

Im Goldberg and won the IC title in my first match(all I had to do was ask Bischoff and he gave me the title shot).Im having trouble with Goldberg's finishers and he's not much of a reversal artist but he does have some awesome powr moves.Your in Smackdown Mode before you know it......now if I only knew how to perform them!!!!!

Picked up the game at Best Buy, so Id check there if I were y'all who havent gotten it.Pros:-Good gravy this game looks great-Entrances are cool-With new reverse and submission system, the button mashing is no longer there. This also leads to very even matches, and they actually are better matches (man I sound like a smark)-The engine seems to really take damage into account. You may be able to do your finisher, but it may or may not be enough depending on when you hit it and how much damage you afflicted overall, and to the particular area that the finisher effects.-Characters strength are divided into 2 categories, season or regular. So if for instance you take Jericho through season, kickin ass and improving his stats, a better version will be available to you in exhibition mode.-More to come here, but this is what Ive seen so farCons:-Certain characters are ridiculously strong in this game (Dont fight Vince, he builds up his smackdown meter ricockulously fast, I think it took him like 5 moves to fill it)

Edit: To el pescado: Does he now stutter and shout obscenities? :)

(edited by Doc_whiskey on 28.10.03 1649)Mr. Burns: You are of course familiar with our state usury laws?Homer:U-sur-y?Mr. Burns: Oh silly me, I must have just used a word that doesn't exist.

I'm only a few months in, but so far Cena's only had little mini-feuds with Goldust, Trish and Rodney Mack (?!), and now Lance Storm (I moved Cena over to RAW, of course). I'm extremely impressed by the new damage system, but it cost me a match against Booker T when I hit the F-U on him and doubled over in pain. That's no good. My match with Trish was fun though, as she tried to pick me up and went nowhere. Gotta love the weight system.

The only thing that REALLY bugs me is that the computer controlled guys seem to love driving things. I've gotten into fights backstage and the first thing any AI guy does is make a B-line for the nearest motorcycle or fork lift, and then drive it around in circles. It's funny, but it's kind of annoying when you get over laughing and want to beat him up (though Storm driving around in perfect circles on the motorcycle while Cena stood on top of the car taunting did have me going for quite a while).